Houston's 11 Best Brunches Before 11

If it's only served after 11 a.m., it's just lunch with eggs.

Brunch: the meal so lazy it couldn't wake up for breakfast, but so demanding that it wants to eat before lunch. By the very definition of the word, brunch should have few rules—it should take place somewhere between the two meals and ideally incorporate standard dishes from both, but otherwise function as whatever you need it to be on a Sunday when you really just need someone else to make the eggs and coffee and maybe give you a little hair of the dog to ease you into full levels of consciousness.

As such, without rules, it seems that many restaurants have arbitrarily decided that brunch begins at 11 a.m. This has stuck in my craw for years, like the fact that Fox aired all of the Firefly episodes out of order and doomed the show before it could find a wider audience. (Browncoats forever.) Brunch beginning at 11 a.m. makes no sense. None! That is when lunch begins! If you're a restaurant and you're offering brunch on the weekends that begins at 11 a.m., you're effectively telling me that I can come in and have eggs for lunch if I want, and that you'll throw some orange juice in a flute of sparkling wine if I'm really lucky.

I realize, however, that most people rightfully do not care when brunch begins because they have more important questions to answer in their own lives, such as whether or not to subject their children to the public education system or how they're going to tell Aunt Linda that they're putting her in a home. So instead of railing against the tide, I've just compiled a list of all those acceptable brunches—you know, the ones that begin before 11 a.m.

Bistro Menil

Brunch hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday through SundayBest dish: Three-egg omelet with duck confit and Gruyere, which should fuel you for an hours-long journey through the Menil Collection across the streetBest cocktail: Ladybug, a mimosa made with sparkling wine and pomegranate juiceWhere to find it: 1513 West Alabama St., bistromenil.comNeighborhood: Montrose

Fielding's Wood Grill

Brunch hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and SundayBest dish: Short rib and mascarpone polenta skillet topped with a fried egg, chipotle in adobo and toasted cashewsBest cocktail: Mexico City, a coffee cocktail boozed up with Kahlua and Espólon tequila and sweetened up with whipped cream and your choice of gelatoWhere to find it: 1699 Research Forest Dr., fieldingswoodgrill.comNeighborhood: The Woodlands

Max's Wine Dive

Brunch hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. SundayBest dish: Hong Kong-style french toast, for the days when you don't fancy a drive out to House of BowlsBest cocktail: Mimosas made with Texas grapefruit juiceWhere to find it: 4720 Washington Ave., maxswinedive.comNeighborhood: Washington Avenue

North Italia

Brunch hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and SundayBest dish: Nonna, which tastes like something your Italian grandmother would make you after a long night out because she loves you and wants you to call her moreBest cocktail: Ginger-Vanilla Greyhound, with fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, vanilla vodka and raw gingerWhere to find it: 1700 Post Oak Blvd., northitaliarestaurant.comNeighborhood: Galleria

Pondicheri

Brunch hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and SundayBest dish: Morning Thali, a sampler platter that comes with a selection of Pondicheri's best dishes, including a carrot paratha topped with a fried eggBest cocktail: Plummer, a cardamom-spiced red sangria made with Merlot, plum and orange juiceWhere to find it: 2800 Kirby Dr., pondichericafe.comNeighborhood: Upper Kirby

Radio Milano

Brunch hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. SundayBest dish: A little bit of everything; it's a buffet, so don't be shy about those heaping portions of house-made pasta or visiting the omelet stationBest cocktail: Death in the Afternoon, the classic cocktail that pairs sparkling wine with absintheWhere to find it: 800 Sorella Ct., radio-milano.comNeighborhood: Memorial